Advent is a season in preparation for the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The term comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming". This is a translation of the Greek word parousia, referring to the Second Coming of Christ.Some of the most beautiful music has been composed for this season. The following are some of the most popular of all time...

"O come, O come, Emmanuel" is a hymn for Advent. The original Latin is "Veni, Veni, Emmanuel." The hymn is a metrical paraphrase of the O Antiphons, a series of plainchant antiphons attached to the Magnificat at Vespers over the final days before Christmas. The verses, correspond to the seven standard O Antiphons, in the following order: "Veni, veni Emmanuel!" = "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" "Veni, O Jesse Virgula" = "O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse" "Veni, veni, O Oriens" = "O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high" "Veni, clavis Davidica" = "O come, Thou Key of David, come" "Veni, veni, Adonai" = "O come, Adonai, Lord of might"

2. "Gabriel's Message" or "The angel Gabriel from heaven came" (Basque: Birjina gaztetto bat zegoen) is a Basque Christmas folk carol about the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel. It uses the biblical account of that event (Luke, Chapter 1, verses 26-38) and Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1.46-55) with the opening lines. It was collected by Charles Bordes and then paraphrased into English by Sabine Baring-Gould. 3. O COME, DIVINE MESSIAH! Words: Abbé Simon J. Pellegrin, 1663-1745 English Translation of French Carol Venez Divin Messie Translator: Sister Mary of St. Philip, SND Music: 16th Century French Carol MIDI / Noteworthy Composer Meter: 78.76.888 Often played as a processional during Advent Words: Charles Coffin, Paris Breviary, 1736 (Instantis adventum Dei); translated from Latin to English by John Chandler, Hymns of the Primitive Church, 1837. Music: Doncaster Samuel Wesley, in Psalms and Hymns for the Service of the Church, 1837 . Alternate tunes: Franconia (König), Harmonischer Liederschatz, 1738 St. Thomas (Williams), Aaron Williams, 1770 4. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 62. Bible text Revelation 3:20 Chorale Nun komm, der (Now come, Savior of the heathens) is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Weimar for the first Sunday in Advent and first performed it on 2 December 1714.

5. "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (Awake, the voice is calling) is a Lutheran hymn written in German by Philipp Nicolai, first published in 1599 together with "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern". It appears in German hymnals and in several English hymnals in translations such as "Wake, Awake, for Night Is Flying".

ROME.- "God is good to me, he has bestowed on me a healthy dose of unawareness. I just do what I have to do. From the start I said to myself, 'Jorge, don´t change, just keep on being yourself, because to change at your age would be to make a fool of yourself'".

These are some of the things Pope Francis said, as spontaneous as ever, during the exclusive interview with the argentine newspaper LA NACION almost 21 months after he was elected Pope.

Though he certainly does not look it, the former archbishop of Buenos Aires will be 78 next December 17. He said the reform of the Roman Curia will not be ready next year, as had been initially anticipated. He also admitted that ¨there still is a long way to go" to complete the cleansing work in the Vatican and spoke very naturally about the resistance he faces, which he said does not worry him.

"Certain resistance has surfaced; I think it´s a good sign when things are discussed openly and not secretly if people don´t agree. It´s good to discuss things openly, it´s healthy", he said in a 50 minute interview last Thursday, in suite 201 of the second floor of casa Santa Martha, in the Vatican, his home ever since he ascended to the throne of St. Peter on March 13, 2013.

In spite of his very busy day, with appointments and audiences from early morning hours, Francis (who has not lost his accent or his typical Buenos Aires ways) was friendly, in a good mood and laid back.

He did not dodge any sensitive issue, such as the controversies of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family which took place last October. This General Assembly allowed in-house divisions to surface -differences in opinion about how to face certain challenges, such as the issue of catholics who have divorced and remarried, who the Pope defined as "excommunicated in fact". "The German Cardinal Walter Kasper said we should look for hypothesis, that is, he paved the way. And some people got frightened", he explained.

I wonder about ourselves, what is it that we ourselves do, what is within the Church that makes the faithful unhappy? It´s that people don´t feel we are close enough, it´s clericalism

To reassure those who think the synod created confusion, the Pope insisted that the synod "is a process" and that "the doctrine of the Church on marriage was not addressed at all". "I am not afraid of walking the synod road (synod comes from the Greek "syn", "odos" walk together) because that is the path that God expects us to walk. Indeed, the Pope is the ultimate guarantor", he said.

As to the huge number of Argentines that fly to Rome and overflood the city in the hope of having a photo taken with him, he confirmed that, in view of next year´s elections, he has decided not receive any more politicians in private and only to receive them at the end of general Wednesday audiences at Saint Peter´s square.

"Argentina has to complete its presidential term peacefully. A fracture of the democratic system, of the Constitution, at this point would be a mistake. Everybody has to cooperate and elect the new authorities. I do not want to interfere in that process, that is why I am not receiving any more politicians in private audiences¨, he said. Furthermore, he confirmed he will not be travelling to Argentina in July, 2016 for the Eucharistic Congress in Tucumán because it is very close to World Youth Day, to be held in Poland. He does, however, intend visit Argentina that same year at another time. He revealed that he will be travelling to another three Latin American countries in 2015 (which he preferred not to mention) and, for the first time, to Africa.

He also assured that the IOR, the Institute for Religious Works (also called the Vatican Bank), which was reformed by him after having been for decades the center of accusations and suspicions of money laundering and mafia involvement, "is working very well". And said that the "spiritual reform, the reform of the heart" is what really concerns him right now.

Francis gave this exclusive interview to LA NACION a few days before a key date: December 12, the day of the festivities of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patroness of Latin America, during which he will say mass at Saint Peter´s Basilica and during which Argentine musicians will interpret Misa Criolla, composed by Ariel Ramírez 50 years ago. The author´s son, Facundo Ramírez, and the singer Patricia Sosa will be performing together with a Roman choir.

Video: El orgullo del Papa por la Misa Criolla en San Pedro

"When I heard Misa Criolla for the first time I was a student, I think I was studying theology at that time, I can´t remember well. i really liked it! I enjoyed ´Lamb of God', which is magnificent. I will never forget that I heard Mercedes Sosa singing it", the Pope admitted.

-The first Latin American Pope, that is a great honour for all Latin America. What do you expect from Latin America?

-Latin America has been walking a path for some time now, since the first CELAM meeting. Monsignor Larraín, the first CELAM President, gave it great momentum. First came the Río conference, then Medellín, and then Puebla, Santo Domingo and Aparecida. The Latin American Episcopate paved the way with these milestones. It did so as a collective body, with different methodologies. At first it went about it shyly. Now this 50-year path can certainly not be ignored because it means building awareness in the Latin American Church and maturing in faith. Walking this road has also aroused great interest in studying the Guadalupe message. The amount of studies of the Virgin of Guadalupe, of her image, her mixed ancestries, of Nican Mopoua, is amazing, constituting fundamental theology. This is why, when we celebrate the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas, on December 12, as well as the 50th. anniversary of Misa Criolla, we are celebrating the road walked by the Latin American Church.

-I am familiar with the figures disclosed at Aparecida, it´s the only information I have. There are evidently several factors of influence, independent of the Church. The theology of prosperity, for instance, just to quote an example, has inspired many religious propositions which people feel attracted to. These people, however, end up in the middle. But let´s leave out factors which are external to the Church. I wonder about ourselves, what is it that we ourselves do, what is within the Church that makes the faithful unhappy? It´s that people don´t feel we are close enough, it´s clericalism. Today , to be close means to reach out to Catholics, to seek people out and be close to them, to sympathize with their problems, with their reality. Clericalism, as I told the CELAM bishops in Río de Janeiro, stopped laypersons from maturing. Precisely, laypersons are more mature in Latin America when they express popular piety. Clericalism was always an issue for lay organizations. I spoke of it in Evangelii Gaudium.

- Does the renovation of the Church which you have been calling upon since you were elected, and precisely in Evangelii Gaudium, also target staryed sheep and stopping the faithful from dropping out?

- I don´t like the "dropping out" image because it is all to close to proselytism. I don´t like to use terms connected with proselytism because that´s not the truth. I like to use the image of the field hospital: some people are very much injured and are waiting for us to heal their wounds, they are injured for a thousand reasons. We must reach out to them and heal their wounds.

- ¿Is that, then, the strategy to recover those that have left?

I like to use the image of the field hospital: some people are very much injured and are waiting for us to heal their wounds

- I don´t like the word "strategy", I´d much rather speak about the Lord´s pastoral call, otherwise it sounds like an NGO. It´s the Lord´s call, what the Church is asking from us today, not as a strategy, because the Church isn´t into proselytism. The Church doesn´t want to engage in proselytism because the Church does not grow on proselytism, it grows on attraction, as Benedict said. The Church needs to be a field hospital and we need to set out to heal wounds, just as the good Samaritan did. Some people´s wounds result from neglect, others are wounded because they have been forsaken by the Church itself, some people are suffering terribly.

- As a Pope you are different because you speak with utmost clarity, you are completely straightforward, you don´t use euphemisms and don´t beat about the bush, the course of your papacy is extremely clear. Why do you think some sectors are disoriented, why do they say the ship is without a rudder, especially after the latest extraordinary synod of bishops on the challenges posed by the family?

- Those expressions strike me as odd. I am not aware of anybody using them. The media quote them. However, until I can ask the people involved "have you said this?" I will have brotherly doubts. In general people don´t read about what is going on. Somebody did say to me once, "Of course, of course. Insight is so good for us but we need clearer things". And I answered, "Look, I wrote an encyclical, true enough, it was a big job, and an Apostolic Exhortation, I´m permanently making statements, giving homilies; that´s teaching. That´s what I think, not what the media say that I think. Check it out, it´s very clear. Evangelii Gaudium is very clear".

- Some of the media have mentioned that the "honeymoon is over" on account of the divisions that surfaced during the synod...

- It wasn´t a division against the Pope, that is, the Pope was no benchmark. Because the Pope tried to get the ball rolling and to listen to everybody. The fact that in the end my address was accepted with such enthusiasm by the synod fathers shows that the Pope is not the issue, but rather the different pastoral positions are.

- Whenever the statu quo changes, which is what happened when you were elected pope, it´s normal to find resistance. Some 20 months later, the resistance seems to have become more evident.

- You said it. Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there id disagreement. It´s healthy to get things out into the open, it´s very healthy.

- ¿Do you believe resistance is connected with your cleansing efforts, with the in-house restructuring of the Roman Curia?

-To me, resistance means different points of view, not something dirty. It is connected to some decisions I may occasionally take, I will concede that. Of course, some decisions are more of the economic type, and others are more pastoral..

- Are you worried?

- No, I am not worried. It all seems normal to me, if there were no difference of opinions, that wouldn´t be normal.

- ¿Is the cleansing over, or is it still going on?

Resistance is now evident. And that is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there id disagreement. It´s healthy to get things out into the open, it´s very healthy

- I don´t like to speak about cleansing. I´d rather speak of getting the Curia going in the direction identified by the general congregations (pre-conclave meetings). No, there´s still a long way to go. A long way, a long way. You see, in pre-conclave meetings, as cardinals we have demanded lots of things which we should certainly not forsake.

- What you found in the cleansing process, is it worse than you expected?

- In the first place, I expected nothing. I expected to go back to Buenos Aires (laughter). And after that, well, I don´t know. You see, God is good to me, he´s bestowed on me a healthy dose of unawareness. I just do what I have to do".

-¿And how are things going at present?

-As everybody knows, it´s all public. The IOR (the Institute for Religious Works) is operating beautifully, we did quite a good job there. The economy is doing well. And the spiritual reform is my great concern right now, to change people´s hearts. I`m writing my Christmas address for the members of the Curia, I´m looking forward to two Christmas addresses, one for curia prelates and the other one for all the Vatican staff, with all our assistants, in the Paul VI room, with their families, because it´s they that keep their nose to the grindstone. Spiritual exercises for prefects and secretaries are a step ahead. It is a step ahead to stay six days locked in, praying; just as we did last year, we´ll do it again the first week of Lent. We´ll be staying at the same house.

- The G9 will be meeting again next week, the group of 9 consultant cardinals that are helping you with the reform process of the Curia and the universal church governance. Will the famous Church reform be ready by 2015?

- No, it´s a slow process. The other day we got together with the Dicastery heads and submitted the proposal of joining Laypersons, Family, Justice and Peace Dicasteries. We discussed it all, each one of us said what he thought. Now it will be forwarded back to the G9. You know, reforming the Curia will take a long time, this is the most complex part..

- That means it won´t be ready by 2015?

- No. We´re tackling it little by little.

- Is it true that a couple might be the head of this new dicastery, that you mightjoin the Laypersons, Family and Justice and Peace Pontifical Councils?

- Perhaps, I don´t really know. The heads of the dicasteries or of the secretariat shall be the fittest, whether man or woman, or even a couple...

- And not necessarily a cardinal or a bishop...

- The head of a dicastery such as the Congregation for the doctrine of the Faith, the liturgical dicastery or the new dicastery encompassing Laymen, Family and Justice and Peace will always be a cardinal. This is best because dicasteries are very close to the Pope. But dicastery secretaries do not necessarily have to be bishops because a problem we have is when we have to change a bishop-secretary, where do we send him? We need to find a dioceses, but sometimes they are not fit for one, they´re good at the other job. I´ve only appointed two bishop secretaries: the Governorate secretary, who thus more or less became the parish priest of all this, and the secretary general of the synod of bishops, for episcopalism.

- It was an intense year, with many significant trips, the extraordinary synod, the prayer for peace in the Middle East in the Vatican gardens. What stands out as the best moment and what as the worst?

- I wouldn´t know. Every moment has something good and something not quite as good, isn´t that so? (silence). For instance, the meeting with the grandparents, the elderly, there was amazing beauty in that.

- Benedict was there as well...

- I enjoyed that ocasion very much, but that doesn´t make it the best because I actually enjoyed them all. I really don´t know, I wouldn´t know what to say, I never thought of that.

- And about being Pope, what do you like the most and what least of all?

- You know. and this is the absolute truth, this is something I actually want to say. Before I came over here I was in the process of retiring. That is to say, I had agreed with the nuncio that when I got back to Buenos Aires we would be putting together a short list of three candidates so that by last year end the new archbishop might take over. That is to say, my mind was focused on the confessionals of the churches where I would be hearing confession. I even had the project of spending two or three days in Luján and the rest of my time in Buenos Aires, because Luján means so much to me and the confessions there are a grace. When I came here I had to start all over again, all this was new. From the start I said to myself: "Jorge, don´t change, just keep on being yourself, because to change at your age would be to make a fool of yourself". That´s why I´ve always kept on doing what I used to do in Buenos Aires. Perhaps even making my old mistakes. But I prefer it like this, to be myself. That evidently caused some changes in the protocols, not in the official protocols because I´m very careful about abiding by them. The thing is that I am who I am even where protocols are concerned, just as I was myself in Buenos Aires. You can see why "not changing" suited me so well.

- When you came back from South Korea somebody asked you a question and you answered that you were hoping to "go to the Father´s house" and many people were worried about your health, they thought that you might not be well or something of the sort. How are you? You look so well..

- I do have some aches and pains, and at my age ailments don´t go unnoticed. But I am in God´s hands, up to now I have been able to work steadily.

- A conservative sector in the US thinks that you removed the North American cardinal Raymond Leo Burke from the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura because he was the leader of a group that resisted changes of any type in the synod of bishops.. Is it true?

- One day Cardinal Burke asked me what he would be doing as he had still not been confirmed in his position, in the legal sector, but rather had been confirmed "donec alitur provideatur". And I answered "Give me some time because we are thinking of a legal restructuring of the G9". I told him nothing had been done about it yet and that it was being considered. After that the issue of the Order of Malta cropped up and we needed a smart American who would know how to get around and I thought of him for that position. I suggested this to him long before the synod. I said to him "This will take place after the synod because I want you to participate in the synod as Dicastery Head". As the chaplain of Malta he wouldn´t have been able to be present. He thanked me in very good terms and accepted my offer, I even think he liked it. Because he is a man that gets around a lot, he does a lot of travelling and would surely be busy there. It is therefore not true that I removed him because of how he had behaved in the synod.

- Last question: do you have plans for your 78th. birthday next December 17? Will you celebrate it with the barboni (the homeless) once again as you did last year?

- I did not invite the "barboni", they were brought in by the charitable, and it was a good idea, wasn´t it? That´s where the myth started, that I had had breakfast with the "barboni". You see, I had breakfast with all the staff of the house and the "barboni" were present. This is part of all the fantasies that people make up about me. It´s the same as with the days when there is no mass in the chapel because it´s Wednesday, the day of the general audience. That day we will all have lunch together, with all the staff. It will be just another day to me, pretty much like any other one.

This article was translated by Vivien Pérez Moran. Shared from LANACION

Author Rick Warren tells Christians to unite with Roman Catholics and “Pope Francis.” Warren referred to the Pope as “Holy Father". Warren visited to the Vatican last month, and spoke at an interfaith conference on the “Complementarity of Man and Woman.” “We have far more in common than what divides us,” Catholic News Service on Wednesday aired a video about “an ecumenical vision for Catholics and Protestants to work together to defend the sanctity of life, sex and marriage.” “They would all say, ‘We believe in the Trinity; we believe in the Bible; we believe in the resurrection; we believe in salvation through Jesus Christ,” Warren said. “These are the big issues.” The author of the bestselling book “The Purpose Driven Life” then defended Catholics on the topic of Mary and the saints. “Sometimes protestants think that Catholics worship Mary like she’s another god, but that’s not exactly Catholic doctrine,” Warren explained. “People say, ‘What are the saints all about? Why are you praying to the saints?’ And when you understand what they mean by what they’re saying, there’s a whole lot more commonality.” “There’s still real differences—no doubt about that,” Warren stated. “But the most important thing is, if you love Jesus, we’re on the same team.” He believes that Christians and Catholics are co-laborers for the cause of defending life and family. “When it comes to the family, we are co-workers in the field in this for the protection of the sanctity of life, the sanctity of sex and the sanctity of marriage,” Warren said. “So, there’s a great commonality and there’s no division on any of those three.” (Image source Google Images)

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis during the Angelus from the window of his studio above St Peter’s Square recalled the second Sunday of Advent saying that it was a wonderful time "that awakens in us the expectation of Christ's return and the memory of his historic coming."Focusing on the day’s liturgy the Holy Father said that it presents us with a hopeful message. Quoting from the Book of Isaiah "Comfort, give comfort to my people, the Pope explained this reading is about a time of joyful liberation and salvation, and a time of looking ahead with confidence to the future

He went on to say that Isaiah refers to people who went through a dark period, but now the time for comfort has come.

Sadness and fear give way to joy, said Pope Francis because the Lord himself leads his people to the path of liberation and salvation.

But, the Pope also underlined that we cannot be messengers of God's comfort if we do not experience the joy of being comforted and loved by Him.

This, he said, is especially the case when we listen to the Gospel, that people, the Holy Father stressed, need to carry in their pocket.

Pope Francis noted that Isaiah's message of comfort, that resounds on this second Sunday of Advent, is a balm on our wounds and an incentive to diligently prepare the way of the Lord.

Many situations, said the Pope, require our comforting witness. “I am thinking about those who are oppressed by suffering, injustice and oppression, about those who are slaves to money, power, success, and worldliness. We are all called to console our brothers, testifying that only God can eliminate the causes of existential and spiritual dramas."

This prophet, he continued, speaks to our hearts today to tell us that God forgets our sins and comforts us if we entrust ourselves to Him a with humble and repentant heart. God, said Pope Francis,"will bring down the walls of evil, will fill the holes of our omissions, will flatten the bumps of pride and vanity, and will pave the way for our meeting with him."

St. Ambrose was a small man with pale yellow hair like a nimbus. In the violence and confusion of his time, he stood out courageously resisting evil, strengthening the Church, and administering it with extraordinary ability. His learning gained for him the title of Doctor of the Church.When Ambrose had governed at Milan for two years, the bishop died, and the city was torn by strife over the election of a successor. When he stood up to protest a voice suddenly called out, "Ambrose, bishop! On December 7, 374, he was consecrated. The new bishop now gave his possessions to the poor and his lands to the Church, reserving only a small income for the use of his sister Marcellina.Conscious of his ignorance of theology, Ambrose began to study the Scriptures and the works of religious writers, particularly Origen and Basil.When Augustine of Hippo came to live at Milan, he called on the bishop, and in time the two became great friends. Augustine went often to hear Ambrose preach, and was at last baptized by him. One of Ambrose's topics was the blessing and virtue of virginity, when chosen for God's sake. At the request of Marcellina, he made a popular manual of his sermons on this subject.When Ambrose fell sick, he foretold his own death, saying he would live only until Easter. He busied himself writing a treatise called 'The Goodness of Death', and with an interpretation of the Forty-third Psalm.On Good Friday, 397, he partook of the Last Sacrament, and died soon after. He was then about fifty-seven and had been bishop for twenty-two years. His remains now rest under the high altar of his basilica, where they were placed in 835.Ambrose's varied writings influenced the development of the Church. He was the first of the Fathers to use Latin effectively, and as the Roman Empire declined in the West he helped to keep this great language alive by starting it on its new course in the service of Christianity. He enriched Church music, and seven of the hymns he wrote are still a part of the liturgy. His personality combined firmness where God's law was concerned with warmth, moderation, and generosity in all else. Trusted by sovereigns, loved by the people, Ambrose was-to quote Augustine's words after their first meeting—"a man affectionate and kind."

Second Sunday of AdventLectionary: 5

Reading 1IS 40:1-5, 9-11

Comfort, give comfort to my people,says your God.Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to herthat her service is at an end,her guilt is expiated;indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORDdouble for all her sins.

A voice cries out:In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!Every valley shall be filled in,every mountain and hill shall be made low;the rugged land shall be made a plain,the rough country, a broad valley.Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,and all people shall see it together;for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,Zion, herald of glad tidings;cry out at the top of your voice,Jerusalem, herald of good news!Fear not to cry outand say to the cities of Judah:Here is your God!Here comes with powerthe Lord GOD,who rules by his strong arm;here is his reward with him,his recompense before him.Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;in his arms he gathers the lambs,carrying them in his bosom,and leading the ewes with care.

Responsorial Psalm PS 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14

R/ (8) Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.I will hear what God proclaims;the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people.Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,glory dwelling in our land.R/ Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.Kindness and truth shall meet;justice and peace shall kiss.Truth shall spring out of the earth,and justice shall look down from heaven.R/ Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.The LORD himself will give his benefits;our land shall yield its increase.Justice shall walk before him,and prepare the way of his steps.R/ Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.

Reading 22 PT 3:8-14

Do not ignore this one fact, beloved,that with the Lord one day is like a thousand yearsand a thousand years like one day.The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,”but he is patient with you,not wishing that any should perishbut that all should come to repentance.But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roarand the elements will be dissolved by fire,and the earth and everything done on it will be found out.

Since everything is to be dissolved in this way,what sort of persons ought you to be,conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion,waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God,because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flamesand the elements melted by fire.But according to his promisewe await new heavens and a new earthin which righteousness dwells.Therefore, beloved, since you await these things,be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.

AlleluiaLK 3:4, 6

R. Alleluia, alleluia.Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:all flesh shall see the salvation of God.R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MK 1:1-8

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;he will prepare your way.A voice of one crying out in the desert:“Prepare the way of the Lord,make straight his paths.”John the Baptist appeared in the desertproclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.People of the whole Judean countrysideand all the inhabitants of Jerusalemwere going out to himand were being baptized by him in the Jordan Riveras they acknowledged their sins.John was clothed in camel’s hair,with a leather belt around his waist.He fed on locusts and wild honey.And this is what he proclaimed:“One mightier than I is coming after me.I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.I have baptized you with water;he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”